Amber has completed a new $300 million Series C funding round led by blockchain-focused venture capital firm Fenbushi Capital US, the company announced on Twitter Dec. 15.
The new funding round comes as Amber decided to pause its previous Series B funding and proceed with Series C instead due to the collapse of FTX.
Prior to the failure of FTX, Amber was in the process of completing a Series B extension at a $3 billion valuation. As previously reported, the company had planned to raise $100 million as part of its Series B funding, with the goal of completing the round by January 2023. As of mid-December 2022, Amber has raised $50 million in the round.
The company said the latest funding from Fenbushi is intended to help Amber process some “significant discounts” on selected Amber products in the wake of the default at FTX.
“This is why we responded quickly to adjust our fundraising strategy,” Amber noted, adding that the company will also scale back its collective consumer efforts and “non-core business lines” to focus on core businesses. As such, Amber canceled plans to expand into Europe and the United States, and also abandoned some projects related to the Metaverse.
Amber reiterated that the FTX infection did not affect the company’s day-to-day operations despite Amber owning about 10% of its total trading capital on FTX at the time of its collapse.
Related: Former US CEO of FTX Reportedly Seeking $6 Million in Funding to Launch Crypto Company
The company also stated that it had to lay off some employees due to the FTX infection: “These were not easy decisions and, unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to many of our excellent colleagues.” According to some reports, Amber laid off more than 40% of its staff in September and December 2022.
Despite abandoning expansion plans and laying off employees, Amber has not given up on its acquisition ambitions. On December 14, Amber acquired Singaporean crypto platform Sparrow Holdings for an undisclosed sum.
Cryptocurrency trading firm Amber Group is taking action to mitigate the consequences of exposure to trading on the bankrupt FTX exchange by proactively raising new funding.
